Spanish church spokeswoman says church will not return former mosque

Published: 2004-05-05

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- A spokeswoman for the church in Spain said there was no legal basis for claims by a small group of Muslims that part of a historic Catholic cathedral should be returned to Muslims. The spokeswoman also said the group could not hold Islamic services in the building, originally a medieval mosque. "This isn't a new demand, and there's no legal case for it," said Pilar Fernandez, spokeswoman for the Cordoba Diocese. "This cathedral belongs to the Catholic Church, and Muslims can visit it like other tourists. But they can't stage prayers there, just as we can't expect to pray inside a mosque," Fernandez told Catholic News Service.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .